Creating synergies or mimicking activity? The problems of African regional integration

Abstract

Regional integration is a process capable of generating synergies and promoting economic and social development by a complexity of positive impulses. Besides external factors, regional integration creating synergies would be necessary for Africa to rise from its deep misery. However, the creation of viable and effective regional integration and, in particular, its implementation is hindered by a number of factors. The study describes the factors hindering integration. In Africa, the „natural” stratification of the socio-economic space (formerly determined by the structure of production, the economic and ethnic spatial relations) was destroyed by the stereotyped administrative system with its artificial borders which the European colonial powers had introduced. Its atomised version hindered the recovery of nations gaining independence. Even though regions consisting of larger, coherent ethnic groups were discernable on the basis of commercial and other, mostly illegal, relations which disregarded national borders, for most political powers they carried a rather symbolic value only. The common currency was able to guarantee a certain degree of unity and cohesive force for the French colonial empire for the longest period of time and in the most effective manner. Once independence had been achieved, the political elites of the various areas recognised the economic and other benefits of regional integration. However, due to the extraordinarily complex (mainly ethnic and religious) conflicts between and within those countries, most of the newly created entities were unable to achieve their objectives. The most serious amongst the current hindering factors at the level of the state are the inward-looking economic policies focusing on import substitution, the insistence on customs duties, the anachronistic nature of (transport and other) infrastructure, the frequent armed conflicts and a lack of information and financial resources. At the international level, the export-oriented economy, the insignificance of legal intra-African trade and the absence of traditions in economic co-operation all complicate the integration process. Because of their dependence on remote economic powers, African countries still focus more on the liberalisation of accessing world markets or on facilitating the conditions of their emergence on them, rather than on the future of macro-regional markets within Africa, by increasing their opportunities there. Regional integration would make access to external financial funds possible. Mainly this financial advantage may be the reason why over two dozen of unnecessary, spatially overlapping regional integration arrangements were created. The discrepancy between their maintenance or operating costs and their very poor efficiency is a strong obstacle to realising the expected synergies. Opinions on the future of African regional integration are divided. For now, the „Afro-pessimists”, are in the majority, who among others warn that working models in the developed world can hardly be followed, and that African integration with due regard to the local situation should mainly be inter-governmental and less supranational. The views of „Afro-optimists”, being the minority, are based only on the modest results achieved in primary education and health systems. – It is an open question what role local and national resources and external donors or investors (including China, creating an increasingly strong position) can play in strengthening the integrations in the future.